The UN report contains hundreds of pages of evidence to justify the actions of the brave Arctic 30. They were acting in defense of a fragile Arctic and a warming world.

This study has gone further than its previous incarnations, and illustrates the crisis we’re facing with even more confidence than before: climate change is a huge problem, the fossil fuel industry is responsible, and the window of opportunity to avoid really dangerous consequences is closing rapidly.

For climate activists everywhere, this announcement is bittersweet. Certainly it adds even more weight to the reasons behind the actions of the Arctic 30 and infuses the debate with more urgency. Yet at the same time, despite the indisputable evidence, governments everywhere are failing to act, and now the Russian authorities are proving they will stop at nothing to defend the oil industry as it exploits climate change to drill for more of the oil that caused this crisis in the first place.

Russian oil giant Gazprom is trying to silence the activists and anyone who would speak out against Arctic oil drilling. Along with other oil companies like Shell, Gazprom is afraid of international attention on the Arctic oil race. However, the truth is that the world needs more, not less, attention focused on lunacy of the global greed for more Arctic oil.

For the first time, this report quantifies how much CO2 the world can emit if we are to stay within so-called safe limits of two degrees global warming: no more than 1000 gigatons of CO2 can be emitted from today until the end of the century if we are to avoid catastrophic climate change. This requires that global emissions peak before 2020, and decline rapidly thereafter. At current emission levels, we will have emitted that within 20 to 30 years. And with current growth, the time is even shorter. This is challenging, but not yet impossible.

Companies like Gazprom and Shell are literally banking on climate change. They have business models in place that depend on the world remaining addicted to fossil fuels, and that rely on the notion that governments will continue to protect the oil industry instead of their people. But alternatives exist, and another world is possible.

Certain fossil fuels need to stay in the ground if we are to avoid catastrophic climate change. That is a simple, indisputable fact. Yet in spite of this undeniable truth, greedy oil companies like Gazprom and others are exploring for more oil and gas, even in extremely sensitive areas like the icy Arctic Ocean, which carries an even greater risk of oil spills and accidents.

Drilling in the Arctic Ocean is incredibly dangerous when there is no way to clean up an oil spill in ice. It's like playing a game of Russian roulette with the sensitive Arctic environment.

The Arctic 30 know this. That is why these brave activists deserve our respect, gratitude and their freedom.

Woke up in a freezing jail, huh? Well, that's what can happen when you violate another country's laws. No mention of the illegal attempt to gain access to a drilling platform? 'Brave activists'? No, just self-righteous airheads who assume their views give them the right to do as they please, wherever they please. I think Russian security showed restraint in not shooting some of them as they attempted to scale the platform. The foolish and arrogant behavior of these 'activists' brought all this about. Let them take their own fall.

From what I've heard, it seems like the Russian authorities violated the activists' human rights (articles 8 to 11) by detaining them while ...

From what I've heard, it seems like the Russian authorities violated the activists' human rights (articles 8 to 11) by detaining them while 'pending' charges, and not providing adequate translation. I also don't think activism is a crime, but rather an important tool to bring about social or political reform. The activists were not hurting or threatening anyone, and the Russian coastguard also illegally boarded their ship and did threaten everyone on board. Not all laws are perfect, and if we just accepted everything anyone tells us to do, society would never advance.

You should look at this article, it talks about the new records of methane releases in Artic Ocean. It seems that past 12th November we've recorde...

You should look at this article, it talks about the new records of methane releases in Artic Ocean. It seems that past 12th November we've recorded hight levels in Laptev Sea. If you could find a way to link this information with the big risk of drilling in Artic Ocean, maybe it can be a good argument to Free the Artic. Here is the link